Early Risers.

[simontaylor484]

May I thank you all very much for your thoughts and best wishes

[Ozexpatriate]

5 hours ago, Pacific231G said:

I've always found it curious that American High Schools and Colleges seem to take their sports teams  more seriously then their academic  qualities

In the interests of not providing a long-winded answer, I will say "not necessarily".

 

High-school sports are a big thing, but do not necessarily take a higher place than education. Education in high-schools has a different problem related to the 'sausage factory' graduation model.

 

Collegiate sports under the umbrella of the NCAA, is a very complex question. Football is an empire. Head football coaches at public universities are often usually the highest paid employee of the state. Most of it is funded by television and the alumni and is somewhat separate from the academic institution. Nominally footballers are there for an undergraduate degree but in larger programs they are often little better then slave labour, there for the hope of making it in the pros. It's not new - the Marx Brothers spoofed college football in 1932 in Horse Feathers.

 

There are of course sports other than football and basketball. The kind of sports you see in the Olympic games (track, field, swimming, rowing, etc) are a big part of larger University sports programmes. Many athletes from all over the world attend US Universities.

[Gwiwer]

22 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

There is a great arcana of rules related to helmets.

Including, iirc, on the cricket pitch the chance of scoring a five.  

 

Four = batsman strikes ball which crosses the boundary without being fielded;

Six = batsman strikes ball which crosses the boundary without being fielded nor touching the ground first

Five = batsman strikes ball which crosses the boundary having first struck a fielder's helmet but otherwise has not been fielded nor touched the ground first.  

 

I'm sure one of our resident fans of such things will be along to confirm or deny.  

[Ozexpatriate]

4 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

Five = batsman strikes ball which crosses the boundary having first struck a fielder's helmet but otherwise has not been fielded nor touched the ground first.  

How often has that happened? I can imagine a snick hitting a wicketkeeper or slips fielder but would have to be going really fast to get to the boundary.

 

My first impression is how much that would hurt for a deep fielder wearing a floppy hat.

[Adam88]

2 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Accuracy isn't bad at all apparently:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World's_Fastest_Indian#Historical_accuracy

 

Special Beary thoughts are with Simon & family.....

 

In other news:

Bear indulged (or not...) in the G word this afternoon, including a session of some ritual self-harming - a.k.a. pruning the Pyracanthus.  If there was an Olympic Medal for spitefulness then that b'stard would walk with Gold every time.....

I didn't get all the G word completed however, as a college buddy phoned and we ended up putting the world to rights - all very p.c. naturally

 

Boots the chemist famously dispensed with accuracy.

[tigerburnie]

Evening all, as we have impending rain for the week I decided to patch the old summerhouse with some marine ply where the wood is showing signs of being weather beaten, a 4 foot by 2 foot piece was cut lengthways in 3 and much No nails stuff(a few nails to hold it in place lol) then sealed with silicone will buy me some time and slow down the damage, the place is almost 19 years old, so not surprising really. After my toils its feet up and a Benriach 10 year old to wash down the dinner.

[zarniwhoop]

Since we're talking about sports (I thought that was banned here, apart from watching nubile young women playing tennis ?), «Magnifique!» - I've just been catching up with today's cycling world championships from Flanders. For those not in France (who I'm sure already know, whether they wished to or not :), French rider Julian Alaphilippe retained the world road championship, and I guess put the Flemings noses out of joint.

 

 

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. 

25 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

Including, iirc, on the cricket pitch the chance of scoring a five.  

 

Four = batsman strikes ball which crosses the boundary without being fielded;

Six = batsman strikes ball which crosses the boundary without being fielded nor touching the ground first

Five = batsman strikes ball which crosses the boundary having first struck a fielder's helmet but otherwise has not been fielded nor touched the ground first.  

 

I'm sure one of our resident fans of such things will be along to confirm or deny.  

I seem to recall a televised match where a fielder standing on the boundary caught the ball that was heading for a four but fumbled it and the ball drpped outside the boundary and was counted as a five.

[polybear]

Bear's Sunday Funnies.......

 

 

 

 

 

A Labour Politician, A BBC TV Reporter and their British SAS Soldier Escort were captured by ISIS.
They were, as usual, sentenced to Death by Beheading.
Unexpectedly the ISIS leader granted them one last request before sentence was carried out.
The Labour Politician asked to hear a rendering of 'Keep the Red Flag Flying Here'.
The TV Reporter asked that the beheading be televised so that even when she was dead her face would still be seen on TV.
The SAS Trooper asked to be kicked three times in the arse, HARD.
As this was such an unusual request, but also the easiest, the ISIS leader decided to carry out this request first.
As the last kick landed the SAS Trooper pulled a hidden 9mm Glock pistol out of his smock and shot three terrorists dead, grabbed one of their AK47s and proceeded to slot the rest of them.
The other two prisoners were amazed, and asked why he had asked to be kicked three times before drawing his weapon.
"Because" replied the SAS Trooper" Apart from being a distraction, when we get back to the UK I don't want you f*****g pair of politically correct clowns saying it was an unprovoked attack!"

 

Anyone else hear about the appalling behaviour on Bournemouth beach yesterday? Man and woman arguing in front of a load of kids. Then she smacked him one and it all kicked off. Police turned up and the Officer had to use his baton on the bloke, but after a struggle, the bloke got the baton off the Officer then he started hitting the Officer and the woman with it!
Then a crocodile turned up and stole all the sausages....

 

A bloke took 2 stuffed dogs to the Antiques Roadshow.
The presenter said, "This is a very rare set, produced by the celebrated Johns Brothers taxidermists who operated in London at the turn of the last century. Do you have any idea what they would fetch if they were in good condition?"
"Sticks" the bloke replied

 

An older gentleman was on the operating table awaiting surgery and he insisted that his son, a renowned surgeon, perform the operation. 
As he was about to get the anaesthesia, he asked to speak to his son. 
"Yes, Dad, what is it?" 
"Don't be nervous, son; do your best, and just remember, if it doesn't go well, if something happens to me, your mother is going to come and live with you and your wife."

 

Two blokes crawling through the desert on hands and knees, desperate for water. They see in the distance some striped tents and head for them. The eventually arrive at the gaily striped tents which are all pitched around a dried out oasis, on the point of dehydration. They go to the nearest tent to beg for water but are told by the owner of the tent, a denizen of the desert, that he has only sponge cake to offer.
At the next tent they are offered custard and at the third tent, raspberry jelly.
Desperate for water they continue to crawl through the dunes in the blistering heat, when one of the men mutters through cracked lips: "that last place was a trifle bizarre".

 

Edited September 26, 2021 by polybear

[JohnDMJ]

2 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

There are things in John's blog that are forbidden here on RMweb such as politics. Whether you agree with him or not reading his blog gives some interesting insights to current affairs.

 

Tough!

[Gwiwer]

57 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Evening all from Estuary-Land. 

I seem to recall a televised match where a fielder standing on the boundary caught the ball that was heading for a four but fumbled it and the ball drpped outside the boundary and was counted as a five.

It's possible to make seven off one ball if there's a fielding error - 

https://zeenews.india.com/cricket/watch-7-runs-from-1-ball-english-batsman-makes-it-possible-in-natwest-t20-blast-2028564.html

 

And yes you can score a five.  I was right about the impact with a fielder's helmet but it's when lying on the ground not whilst being worn ..... 

https://www.mvorganizing.org/how-do-you-score-5-runs-in-cricket/

[laurenceb]

3 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Accuracy isn't bad at all apparently:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World's_Fastest_Indian#Historical_accuracy

 

Special Beary thoughts are with Simon & family.....

 

In other news:

Bear indulged (or not...) in the G word this afternoon, including a session of some ritual self-harming - a.k.a. pruning the Pyracanthus.  If there was an Olympic Medal for spitefulness then that b'stard would walk with Gold every time.....

I didn't get all the G word completed however, as a college buddy phoned and we ended up putting the world to rights - all very p.c. naturally

Cutting back blackthorn is fun ad well ( some bright spark on the radio once said it makes a good stock barrier, it doesn't and it won't stay put)

[Tony_S]

2 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

How often has that happened? I can imagine a snick hitting a wicketkeeper or slips fielder but would have to be going really fast to get to the boundary.

 

My first impression is how much that would hurt for a deep fielder wearing a floppy hat.

Spectators have been injured by cricket balls too.

And as mentioned the five is awarded if the ball strikes an unworn helmet. It doesn’t have to go to the boundary. 

Edited September 26, 2021 by Tony_S

[monkeysarefun]

47 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

It's possible to make seven off one ball if there's a fielding error - 

https://zeenews.india.com/cricket/watch-7-runs-from-1-ball-english-batsman-makes-it-possible-in-natwest-t20-blast-2028564.html

 

And yes you can score a five.  I was right about the impact with a fielder's helmet but it's when lying on the ground not whilst being worn ..... 

https://www.mvorganizing.org/how-do-you-score-5-runs-in-cricket/

 

 

 

 

 

[southern42]

 ' evening all from red dragon land.

 

Simon, I hope your wife gets well soon. Worrying time for everyone.  And well done to youngest.

 

 

Today was a mixture of misty moist, blustery wind and a bit of sunshine.

 

It was too windy to go down to the woods so I had several sessions of toot on the flute - tone not too bad, pleased at times in fact; finger forgetfulness still a bugbear! Still, progress of sorts - and some making of pencil marks on the drawing I could not continue outdoors because of the wind.  Let me explain!

 

You know how it goes - If you go down to the woods today you're sure of a big surprise...

Well, a few days ago, I went down and the log was horizontal - as it should be for a Log Swing - but in an awkward position to complete the Log Swing in my notebook.

 

 

But tried, I did.

 

 

Not too happy with it, I looked hard at it during the day and, with several attempts, eraser rubbings, and a colour change, refreshed it from one of the photos taken from my drawing position on the root of another tree. Only after I was fairly happy, did I add the tangled web of cable.  If I tweak it anymore, it will not be until I have done the background. <gasp!>  And, yes, I used a ruler to take the cable up into the tree. 

 

 

I am dreading the next bit - blank canvas and all that...Will it all come right? My little Smiley seems to think so. 

Hopefully, I will be able to get the leaves in before they change colour and fall, or it will be back to using the photos.

 

Time for another mugadecaf.

 

Polly

 

 

' night all and nos da.

Edited September 26, 2021 by southern42

[TheSignalEngineer]

More on the petrol front. Queue onto the road again this morning and price had gone up by 5p since last night. No queue this afternoon. Despite price increase they had sold out.

[Ozexpatriate]

35 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

Spectators have been injured by cricket balls too.

Baseball can be dangerous to watch too. Baseballs are not quite as hard as cricket balls but they end up in the stands (mostly from foul balls) much more often than cricket balls.

 

More dangerous are broken bats. Splintered bat fragments can come at fans like a missile and cause grievous injury. Much harder to stop safely than a ball. Fortunately this is rare. Most major league stadiums have protective netting behind the home plate.

 

Edited September 26, 2021 by Ozexpatriate

[Barry O]

2 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

Including, iirc, on the cricket pitch the chance of scoring a five.  

 

Four = batsman strikes ball which crosses the boundary without being fielded;

Six = batsman strikes ball which crosses the boundary without being fielded nor touching the ground first

Five = batsman strikes ball which crosses the boundary having first struck a fielder's helmet but otherwise has not been fielded nor touched the ground first.  

 

I'm sure one of our resident fans of such things will be along to confirm or deny.  

No.. once the ball has hit the helmet on the ground five penalty runs are awarded. If the battery has hit the ball and already crossed on 5aking a run before it hits the helmet 6 runs would be awarded..5 penalty runs (marked in the penalty runs part of the scoresheet) plus 1 run to the batter.

Baz

[Ozexpatriate]

Today really feels like the day the seasons have changed. By tomorrow, we will have steadily dropped 14°C over a period of four days.

 

We set a record of 90 days over 80°F / 27°C for the year with no more of them in the forecast for the next week or two.

 

After warm sunny days (32°C and 28°C), today is pleasant (23°C) with rain forecast this evening. All I can see from my window right now (about four hours before sunset) is blue sky but rain is promised by nightfall. Tomorrow will be cooler (18°C) and rainy.

 

Hopefully we'll see more snow on the mountain. A snow cap appeared after recent rain but much of it melted with the warm weather this week.

 

There is some Autumn colour in the trees. They were so stressed by the drought, June heatwave and dry summer that I'm not sure we'll see a lot of brilliant colour this year.

[Erichill16]

Evening All,

Hope that Simon’s other half if stabilised and the midics sort out the cause. Must have been terrible for the youngster to see it all unfolding. 
Also good to see that Captain C and Baz have but in an appearance.

Most of the day spent in the garden but yesterday I went done to Newark to visit my sister and family but I was particularly keen to see the new addition to their family.  
Here’s Roxy, an 8week out boxer pup.

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[PeterBB]

4 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

How often has that happened? I can imagine a snick hitting a wicketkeeper or slips fielder but would have to be going really fast to get to the boundary.

 

My first impression is how much that would hurt for a deep fielder wearing a floppy hat.

Never actually seen a five but a seven with overthrows ...two thoughts on the it referred to a helmet and if it hit a floppy hat it would not bounce enough to reach a boundary as the hat and fielders head would take the pace from it. There is something special about a helmet hit.  Memory - I am a Surrey man born and bred and spent many happy hours at the Oval during Surrey's good years with captain Stuart Surridge (SS) - the times did mean that I saw Len Hutton bat at some stage - anyway it was an August Bank Holiday against the South Africans and Endean scored 153.  The point of the memory - it was the day when I truly realised that I liked cricket and not just Surrey as I thoroughly enjoyed watching the innings develop. I was also present at the whole match at the Oval when Surrey beat Worcester  who were out for 25  first innings and 40 in the second having gone home the night before wondering what SS had declared on 83 for 3. My son in later years came with me to Leeds (England lost but the then captain scored a century) to watch a test match but his favourite was an England victory against the West Indies at Edgbaston.

 

Our umpire Barry O has provided the definitive answers to the query raised by Gwiwer.

Edited September 26, 2021 by PeterBB
Definitive answer provided.

[laurenceb]

Night awl

[Pacific231G]

3 hours ago, polybear said:

 

A Labour Politician, A BBC TV Reporter and their British SAS Soldier Escort were captured by ISIS.
They were, as usual, sentenced to Death by Beheading.
Unexpectedly the ISIS leader granted them one last request before sentence was carried out.
The Labour Politician asked to hear a rendering of 'Keep the Red Flag Flying Here'.
The TV Reporter asked that the beheading be televised so that even when she was dead her face would still be seen on TV.
The SAS Trooper asked to be kicked three times in the arse, HARD.
As this was such an unusual request, but also the easiest, the ISIS leader decided to carry out this request first.
As the last kick landed the SAS Trooper pulled a hidden 9mm Glock pistol out of his smock and shot three terrorists dead, grabbed one of their AK47s and proceeded to slot the rest of them.
The other two prisoners were amazed, and asked why he had asked to be kicked three times before drawing his weapon.
"Because" replied the SAS Trooper" Apart from being a distraction, when we get back to the UK I don't want you f*****g pair of politically correct clowns saying it was an unprovoked attack!"

 

 

 

Very amusing Bear. I'm sure the families of Marie Colvin, Ahmed Shah, Simon Cumbers, John Schofield, Mohammed Nazir, Nasteh Dahir Farrah and too many others would find it particularly entertaining. They were all BBC reporters murdered while reporting in some of the world's more troubled places. No doubt it was their irritating political correctness that made them targets and not their efforts to report things that some people wouldrather we didn't know. 

You might find this of interest.

https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/buildings/broadcasting-house/breathing